SBRS: BFREN: Phil Giebler, Skip Barber alumnus update

Gielber Continues to Climb Formula Ladder
Skip Barber trained Phil Giebler knows he has his work cut out for him in
his quest to achieve his lifelong goal: a seat in Formula 1. Hailing from
Oxnard, California, but now living in England, the...

Gielber Continues to Climb Formula Ladder

Skip Barber trained Phil Giebler knows he has his work cut out for him in
his quest to achieve his lifelong goal: a seat in Formula 1. Hailing from
Oxnard, California, but now living in England, the former karting star
turned international auto racer continues to develop his race resume. As
importantly, the former Team USA must also find time for the business
side of the sport, making the key moves that will take his career to the
next level.

After living in Le Mans, France and competing in the prestigious ELF/La
Filliere Driver’s program, he made his name in global racing
circles by winning the 2000 British Formula Palmer/Audi Winter
Championship. Then, last summer, the Skip Barber trained racer took
another step towards signing up for Bernie’s big circus by scoring
points in his British F3 debut at Silverstone. An impressive one-off
outing, the result raised more than a few sets of eyebrows in the F3
pits. The last stop before Formula 1, the prolific British F3 series was
the place Giebler needed to make his mark, and the Silverstone result was
just what the doctor ordered.

Now living in Northampton, England, Giebler recently made the trip back
across the Atlantic to begin pounding the pavement of America in search
of sponsorship money. Like every other driver determined to race the 13
venue, 26 race series in 2002, Giebler needs to help underwrite his place
in the paddock. After knocking on countless doors and scratching and
clawing for funding, the likeable Californian has earned enough money to
pique the interest of the highly-competitive Duma Racing team, Giebler is
doing everything in his power to make it to the British F3 opening round
at Brands Hatch on April 1st.

However, before he can do that, there is a major test to attend first.
And that’s how we came into contact with the aspiring F1 pilot.
Preparing to pack his bags for a trip to Spain, we caught up with Giebler
in Los Angeles to get a read on his hopes and dreams for the summer of
2002.

“ There’s a five day test that the Duma team is going to at
Albacete, Spain, which could be a really good start for me,” begins
Giebler.“ I can drive every day and be able to development work and
improve the car.”

For the 2002 UK campaign, Duma has signed on to run the new Ford F3
motor. Brought to life by Swindon Engines, Giebler is hoping the mill
will provide his with an edge over the other wannabes.

“ We’ll be running with the new For engine, which will be its
first time in F3,” he says.“ It’s a bit of a gamble but
we’ve been pretty impressed with what we have seen so far. The
2.0-liter engine is a lot lighter and cranks out about 240
horsepower.”

Illustrating just how tough it is to break into British F3 - far and away
the most competitive junior single-seat formula in the world–
Giebler, despite his excellent track record, is still not assured a place
within the Duma outfit.

“ It’s a bit tricky and I’m working with the team to
put it all together,” he concedes, referring to the fact that the
sponsorship money he has been promised still has still not been
delivered.“ It’s a really difficult situation. I have a few
people sponsoring me but I have not yet been able to put the money into
the hands of the team. They believe I’ve got the money and believe
I’m worth taking the risk on. Hopefully we’ll have it all
squared away in about one to two weeks.

“ Everybody is in the same kind of boat,” he goes on, making
it a point to mention that nobody rides for free.“ In the junior
formulas there are hardly any free rides around. Especially in Europe
where you have to exclusively rely on sponsorship or family money. I mean
I’ve been lucky to even get to this point by winning driver
sponsorships and people helping me out, but I still need to find
sponsorship money to get find a place in F3.”